Japan's Liberal-Democratic Paradox of Refugee Admission

Abstract

In-migration embodies the liberal-democratic paradox: the tension between the right of an individual and the collective will of a polity. This is well illustrated by escalating conflicts over admission of the “special category” of international migrants: refugees. Taking Japan as a notoriously difficult case, this paper analyzes recent developments in Japan's embattled refugee policy and argues that grassroots efforts by civil society provide a way to move beyond the current gridlock of the state-centric paradigm of refugee admission. Specifically, empirical evidence available to date suggests that private refugee sponsorship that enables individuals and community organizations to voluntarily sponsor the resettlement of UN-recognized refugees offers a viable policy instrument in Japan's context. While retaining the democratic communitarian outlook on admission of foreigners, the model injects liberal universalist qualities into immigration policy that are capable of motivating positive change domestically and, potentially, across East Asia at large.

Asylum Seeking as Survival Strategy: The Narratives of Indonesian Work Seekers in Japan

“…As stated above, the available research has offered helpful insights concerning the state of Japan's immigration policy, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers in Japan. Additionally, the existing research on refugees and asylum seekers in Japan (e.g., Kalicki, 2019;Kondo, 2015) has primarily focussed on institutional issues, policy changes in immigration law, demographic changes in the country, the benefits and limitations of bringing in foreign workers, human rights abuses in detention facilities, and Japan's low acceptance rate for refugees and asylum seekers.…”

Refugees by Another Name: Displaced Learners in Japanese Higher Education

“…Six students were admitted to Japan in 2016, and per a 2017 JAR report, the second iteration of the programme garnered 1091 applicants with the goal of admitting eight (JAR, 2017). Kalicki (2019) has described how JAR, during the first year of this initiative, framed it as partly inspired by the success of private refugee sponsorship in the Canadian setting, where private donors, religious groups, and businesses sponsored Syrians fleeing conflict. The six Syrians initially selected were exempt from tuition fees and benefitted from private sponsorship of travel costs and language training.…”

Trading Liberty: Assisted Repatriation in Liberal Democracies

“…Consequently, what constitutes access to and membership in a contemporary liberal state is vigorously debated (Adamson et al 2011;Chauvin and Garcés-Mascareñas 2014;Kiwan 2005;Thomas 2002). 3 What complicates this debate is that national migration management is driven by multiple, often contradictory, forces seeking different goals (Boswell 2007;Boswell and Geddes 2010;Freeman 1995;Hampshire 2013;Hollifield 2004;Kalicki 2019aKalicki , 2019bMenz 2009;Paul 2015;Perlmutter 1996), which contributes to the liberal democratic state's general incoherence on immigration affairs.…”